Museum & Gallery Display Lighting Projects

The Art Gallery of Ontario

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is one of the most distinguished art galleries in North America, with outstanding collections of Canadian, African, Oceanic and European art.

In 2002, the AGO was gifted the private art collection of Canadian billionaire and philanthropist Ken Thomson, including his collection of ship models, spanning 350 years of exquisite craftsmanship.

This large collection has its own dedicated gallery, and UFO was chosen to supply a range of fiber optic products to illuminate the displays. Many of these irreplaceable and delicate objects were created using wood, bone, silk and human hair which can easily be damaged by heat or ultraviolet rays, and so fiber optics were the perfect solution.

UFO's Aurora illuminators were used to power the downlights. These were hidden in the legs of the display cases, and each one connected to a harness containing strands of end-lit glass fiber. This runs discreetly through vertical aluminum tubes into the downlight fittings at the top of the cabinet.

The UFO Aurora illuminators in the cabinet legs are also used to power the light fittings illuminating the undersides of the ships. These also use end-lit fiber - in this case without end fittings - held in place by radio nuts.

Cleverly concealing the fiber and illuminators within the cabinet legs in this way means visitors' eyes are drawn to the beautiful model ships, rather than the workings of the powerful lighting system.